MAHONING COUNTY Officials update pact for sewer, water bills

By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County commissioners approved an updated version of a 15-year-old agreement with Youngstown for billing and collection of water and sewer fees.
Since 1988, the city has issued bills and collected sewer payments for about 24,000 county customers in suburbs such as Austintown, Boardman and parts of Canfield Township.
Those customers get their water from the city, but their sanitary sewer service is provided by the county. Sewer costs are based on water usage, county Administrator Gary Kubic said.
Having the city handle the sewer billing saves the county from having to duplicate the work of sending someone else to read the water meters, Kubic said Thursday.
In the past, the city would remit payments to the county quarterly, but sanitary engineer Joseph Warino said those payments now will be monthly. Customers also will be billed monthly instead of quarterly.
By collecting its money monthly, the county will be able to invest and earn interest on its collections, Warino said. Monthly remittances also will stabilize the sanitary engineer's cash flow. Warino said computer upgrading has improved the billing system's efficiency. Customers also will be able to get detailed information on their current bill, account history and payment history.
The city keeps 2 percent of what it collects to cover its costs for the sewer billing and collection. The new agreement increases that to 4.75 percent until June 2008. In July 2008, the rate will go up to 5.1 percent. Commissioners had a brief ceremony at the beginning of their meeting, recognizing representatives of local police, fire, military, 911 and ambulance crews. The ceremony was in honor of Patriots Day, declared by President Bush to honor the memory of those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Commissioners also approved closing State Line Road between County Line and John White roads in Coitsville Township from Tuesday to Oct. 5 for a culvert replacement. Sheban Drive, between Shields Road and Truesdale Avenue in Boardman Township, will be closed from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday for a culvert replacement.